Sunday Notebook from Indy

We caught up with team owner Dale Coyne on the grid before the race. He was happy to be back at Indy for sure. As for his chances to win, he said, "It's hard to beat the top three teams. They have so much development in the cars. The rules allow way too many changes and those teams have exploited them to the max." Coyne didn't think we would see a new IndyCar until 2011 if they change the engine. "I think it's too late for a new car in 2010 if they are going to change the engine too." Coyne agreed that all the teams would not be on equal footing until everyone had a new car. We disagreed with Coyne on the engine. If the IRL adopts the 2.65-liter turbo Champ Car engine there is no reason why it could not be adopted by 2010 as both Honda and Cosworth have experience with them……..We ran into Raphael Matos on the starting grid as well. He tells us he is going to test an IndyCar at Watkins Glen on June 11th along with Marco Andretti. Recall that as part of the deal, if an Indy Car team also runs a car in the Indy Lights they get 5 extra days of IndyCar testing for the development driver. Matos, last year's Atlantic champion, is a phenomenal driver and hopes to move up to Indy Cars in 2009. Mark Cipolloni reporting from Indy